


Decisions, The Future, And Right Now

by iammako3



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 03:42:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2009619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iammako3/pseuds/iammako3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka refuses to think about the future until he discovers something at Makoto's house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decisions, The Future, And Right Now

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this between episodes 3 and 4 of season 2, so future episodes may completely render this writing moot. . . but the idea wouldn't leave my head, so I went for it anyway. I hope you enjoy!

Something had been bothering Haruka about Makoto’s behavior for a week or so now. It was difficult to place what the issue was, though, as he wasn’t acting strange or avoiding anyone. Every now and again, though, Haruka felt like Makoto was staring at him, but whenever he tried to catch him in the act Makoto wasn’t looking in his direction at all. There were some random hesitations before he spoke as well, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Still, a creeping feeling growing in the back of Haruka’s thoughts that he wasn’t fond of at all.

When Makoto invited him over to hang out one Saturday - the rest of the swim club busy with other activities and second swim club rented out for a party - Haruka accepted the invitation gladly, hoping to clear up whatever was worrying him. They’d played some games already, but when Haruka coughed once, Makoto had paused the game and sprung up from the floor.

“Oh! Sorry, I totally forgot to get us snacks and tea. Hold on, and I’ll be right back.”

Haruka put his controller down and leaned back to rest his head on the side of Mako’s desk. As conscientious a note-taker he was, his desk tended toward the cluttered side, and Haruka’s head was the tipping point to one particular pile that had been precariously placed. A small smile graced Haruka’s face at seeing the white papers raining down all around him, amused at Makoto’s organization “techniques”. He gently picked up the sheets nearest him to place everything back in order, but one particular piece of paper grabbed his attention before he could add it to the stack. He froze, simply staring at the paper in his hand, eyes reading the text over and over again, but not being able to process what was written on there. The rest of the sheets he’d picked up fell loosely from his other hand, but Haruka didn’t even notice, too focused on trying to understand what he was reading.

“Haru, we’re out of the tea you really like, so I hope this one’s okay,” Makoto said from the doorway, balancing two cups and a plate of snacks on a tray Still on the floor, Haruka jolted back to attention, half crumpling the paper in his hand. Without looking at Makoto, he stood, dropped the paper, and rushed out of the room.

Makoto barely avoided being knocked over by Haruka’s rush, and one of the tea cups was not as lucky, tipping over and spilling hot liquid on the hallway floor. “Ah! Wait, Haru, what happened?!” He tried to follow after, but Haruka was already out the door by the time Makoto had set the tray down. His instinct begged him to run after Haruka and soothe him, but the more practical part of Makoto knew he had to clean up the spilled tea first, before his family got home. On his hand and knees, wiping up the tea, Makoto saw the half-crumpled paper that Haruka had dropped before storming out.

The towel had done it’s duty, so he left it on the floor to pick up and straighten out a very familiar form. “Oh, Haru,” he sighed, picking up the rest of the mess and putting all the papers back on his desk. The towel was tossed in the laundry basket on Makoto’s way out. There were only a few places Haruka would go after seeing what he saw, and Makoto was betting he knew which place to visit.

The ceiling was wobbly and constantly moving as Haruka looked up from underneath the water. Sounds were only a dull roar in his ear, but that was perfect. He needed to hear nothing, feel nothing - at least for a while. The sound of his door opening was audible even through the water, and Haruka closed his eyes, not wanting to see the person he knew would be there. Eventually, though, his breath ran out and he had to surface. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see a familiar hand held out in front of him. For the first time in his memory, Haruka ignored that hand and stayed in the tub.

To his credit, Makoto was half-expecting that kind of reaction, but the reality of it still hurt. Haruka refused to look at him, so Makoto moved to sit down at the head of the tub, back leaning against the porcelain. The only noise in the bathroom was the pair breathing completely in sync. They sat there in silence, neither looking at the other or moving, until Haruka finally sank down in the tub, keeping his head just barely above the water while breathing out slowly, disrupting their synchronized breathing and breaking the tension that had built up thicker than steam in the room.

“Hokkaido. . . is pretty far away.”

Makoto paused in his breathing until they were synched up once again. “It is. It will probably take about eight or nine hours to get there from here, if you take the shinkansen.”

Water sloshed in the tub as Haruka sat up again, pulling his knees close to his chest. “But it’s your first choice.” The quiet words came out thick, Haruka pushing himself just to get them up through his throat.

“It is.”

“When were you going to tell me?” a bitter tinge entered Haruka’s voice, his chin pressing hard against his knees and muscles tense at Makoto’s short responses.

Outside the tub. Makoto matched Haruka’s pose, though his chin rested much more lightly on his knees. “I haven’t taken the test yet, but if I passed, then I was going to let you know. I was hoping you’d have a real plan by then as well, so it wouldn’t be such a shock.”

“Real plan?” His voice sounded so lost that Makoto broke their unspoken stand-off to turn around and look at Haruka, but he quickly returned to looking down at the floor when Haruka tensed up and looked anywhere but back at him.

“What are you going to do in the future, Haruka? I know you want to swim, but there are a lot of different ways to do that. You could go the Olympics route like Rin - I’m sure he could even recommend a good school to you. Or you could do more with your art skills and find a school that has art and also a pool. If you really didn’t want to go on to university, I’m sure Coach Sasabe could use your help at the new swim club,” he frowned and ran a hand through his hair after that suggestion, not happy with Haru’s future if he went that route. “Honestly, I know you have a lot of talent in you, so I think you should go to university even if you don’t think so right now.”

The bathroom lapsed into silence again, but not for too long. “I just want to swim.”

Makoto was patient and understanding, especially with people he truly cared for, but even he had a breaking point. He stood up and turned to face Haruka, staring down at the top of his black hair, half-growling at the lack of sense his best friend was showing. “Haruka!”

The boy in the tub flinched at the harshness of his name and only his name - no friendly “Haru” or even the outwardly hated but secretly appreciated “Haru-chan”. His throat grew swollen and it was hard to swallow all of a sudden. When he left for Hokkaido, was that how Makoto would eventually refer to him? Just Haruka, some kid he knew back home? Just the thought hurt, but Haruka didn’t know what to do about it; normally he would swim to try and dull the pain, but if he dunked himself under the water now, he had a feeling Makoto would never forgive him. He’d only seen Makoto this mad once, and it had never been aimed at Haruka himself.

“Haruka,” the name was softer this time, but hurt just as deep. “This is our last year - our last few months - here at Iwatobi. After this, the future isn’t just something to think about later. It’s here, and you need to find out where you want to be and what you want to do.” Makoto sighed when Haruka still refused to look up from the water. He hated seeing his best friend like this, but someone had to push Haruka forward, even if it made Makoto the “bad guy”.

“If you want to swim, then we’ll talk to Rin and figure out the best places for you to apply. I know he’d love to keep swimming with you - or even against you at a competitive school.” Makoto placed his hand on the top of Haruka’s head, long fingers carding through the wet black shiny locks while trying to comfort his friend. “It won’t be that bad, I promise. I’ll come back to visit all the time, and you’ll have everyone else here plus all the new friends you’ll make.”

Haruka stayed silent. He didn’t want new friends, he didn’t want to have to worry about a new school and new people. He wanted everything to stay like it was now, swimming with his friends who understood him and still liked him anyway. If Makoto moved to Hokkaido, then he wouldn’t be able to swim with him anymore. The heartbreak Rin caused had healed some, but the scar underneath was throbbing now. What if Makoto disappeared and never swam with him again? Could Haruka live with that?

Usually Makoto could sense what Haruka was thinking, but just now, staring down at the silent statue he’d become, Makoto had no idea what to say or what to do. He lifted his hand away and turned around to go. Maybe Haru just needed some time to think. He’d leave for now and call later; or if Haru didn’t answer his phone, he could always just check back in. He’d pushed too far tonight, it was time to back off.

“I’m sorry, Haru.”

Those words made Haruka’s eyes flare open. Was that it? Was Makoto done with him. His heart was beating fast and his breath stuttered. No. No, Makoto couldn’t leave!

Before he could take a step away from the bath tub, Makoto heard a splash and felt warm wet arms wrap tightly around his stomach. Haruka’s hot breath tickled the small of his back, his forehead smashed further up on his spine to keep him close as possible. Makoto flushed, not used to such physical contact from Haruka. He swallowed and closed his eyes, trying to memorize the feeling while it lasted.

“Does Hokkaido University have a pool? If it has a pool, I’ll go there too. Or even if there’s just a pool nearby. I can join a club.” The words spilled out, each one plucking at Makoto’s heart, but the underlying meaning of them bittersweet. Don’t leave me. Please.

After a calming breath, Makoto gently loosened Haruka’s grip and stepped away, turning back around to offer his hand once again. Haru wasn’t looking at him, and didn’t see the hand; he was lost in a dark and empty place where Makoto walked away. It was too close to how Haru had been after his secret race with Rin, and Makoto hated himself just a little for putting Haru back in that place. This wasn’t the same though, Makoto wouldn’t walk away from Haru. He never would.

“Haru, look at me,” he called out, putting his hand closer to Haruka’s view. That got his attention, and the two locked eyes. Makoto decided to take a chance and put all his feelings for Haruka into that look. _You’re amazing. So many people will help you and swim with you. I will always be there for you, no matter what you decide to do. I love you._

Haruka returned the favor, and Makoto had no problem understanding him with thoughts so bright in his eyes. _I’d be swimming alone if it weren’t for you. I don’t want to swim alone anymore. I want to be there for you too. I love you, too._

This time Haruka grabbed Makoto’s hand and pulled himself out of the bath. He didn’t let go of that hand, using it to bring Makoto closer, into an embrace. Neither boy cared that Haruka was wet and dripping all over - water was part of who they both were and had been a major component of keeping them together through all these years. Makoto welcomed the embrace, wrapping his arms around Haruka for the first time in years. Being this close to Haruka was more than he’d ever expected, and he treasured every second of it. He would have been fine staying in this moment forever, but Haru wasn’t done yet.

Moving his head back a few inches, Haruka waited until Makoto noticed and looked down at him. That was enough to make the distance bridgeable, and Haruka threw all caution to the wind, rushing forward to put his lips on Makoto’s. It was short - only a tiny touch before Haruka settled back into their embrace - but just that touch was enough to send Makoto into a full body blush. 

“Haru?” he asked, voice shaking and mind shattered into a thousand shining pieces. This was too good to be true. There was no way Haru has just kissed him.

For his part, Haruka wasn’t going to lose Makoto now that he knew just how much they meant to each other. If Makoto didn’t believe the feelings he’d shared through his eyes, he’d just have to say it outloud.

“I love you.”

The smile on Makoto’s face made the risk more than worth it. He whooped in delight, squeezing Haruka tight and lifting him a few inches up in the air in celebration before setting him back down and leaning in for a kiss of his own. This one lasted longer, though just as chaste. Then another followed, and a few more after that, each lasting longer and creating more heavy warmth between them. Makoto stopped when he felt Haruka’s hands shaking ever so slightly as they gripped his shoulders. Stepping back and grabbing those hands in his own, Makoto gazed down at Haru, chest swelling with all the feelings he’d trapped inside now fighting to spill out.

“I love you. I love you, Haru. Always. I won’t go away. You can’t get rid of me that easily, especially not now,” he said, squeezing Haruka’s hands in his own with a smile more brilliant than any he’d shown yet. Haruka flushed bright red and nodded, calming down. He leaned back towards Makoto’s body heat until he could feel a heartbeat under his cheek.

“What else does Hokkaido University have? Can you show me the website?” A drop of water fell from Haruka’s hair on to Makoto’s bare collar, making him shiver. The taller boy broke their contact to grab a nearby towel, throwing it over Haruka’s head, carefully drying his hair and shoulders.

“We can look at the website together, and we can look at some other schools too. We don’t have much time before our decisions are due, but that’s time enough to find somewhere we both want to go, right Haru-chan?”

The towel over his head saved both boys from seeing the other blushing, but Haruka pulled it down over his shoulders and braved the embarrassment to show Makoto just how happy he was. “Yeah, that sounds good.”


End file.
